Multi-function information handling system with multi-orientation stand

ABSTRACT

A tablet information handling system processes information with processing components disposed in a planar housing for presentation as images at a display disposed at the upper surface of the planar housing. Support members extend at the lower surface of the planar housing to support the planar housing in an upright configuration having the housing in a first orientation or an inclined configuration having the housing in a second orientation. A cooling fan controller manages cooling airflow direction through the planar housing based upon the orientation of the planar housing to blow hot air exiting the housing in a direction away from the likely location of an end user relative to the planar housing.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/711,048, entitled “Multi-FunctionInformation Handling System Tablet With Multi-Directional Cooling,”inventors John T. Morrison and Srinivas Kamepalli, filed Dec. 11, 2012,describes exemplary methods and systems and is incorporated by referencein its entirety.

CONTINUING DATA

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/710,988, filed Dec. 11, 2012, entitled “Multi-Function InformationHandling System With Multi-Orientation Stand,” now U.S. Pat. No.9,229,477, issued Jan. 5, 2016, which includes exemplary systems andmethods and is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates in general to the field of informationhandling system devices, and more particularly to a multi-functioninformation handling system tablet having adjustable viewing and coolingconfigurations.

Description of the Related Art

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option available to users is information handling systems. Aninformation handling system generally processes, compiles, stores,and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or otherpurposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of theinformation. Because technology and information handling needs andrequirements vary between different users or applications, informationhandling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in informationhandling systems allow for information handling systems to be general orconfigured for a specific user or specific use such as financialtransaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage,or global communications. In addition, information handling systems mayinclude a variety of hardware and software components that may beconfigured to process, store, and communicate information and mayinclude one or more computer systems, data storage systems, andnetworking systems.

Consumers have come to expect that an information handling system willadapt to perform multiple functions with user-friendly interfaces.Desktop and other types of non-portable information handling systemshave generally fallen out of favor with many consumers who expect tocarry their information handling system with them. A typical desktopinformation handling system setup has bulky and awkward wires thatinterface peripherals, such as displays and keyboards, and a relativelylarge footprint that consumes desktop or office space. Desktopinformation handling systems do tend to have larger-sized chassis withgreater storage, which makes them convenient as a household server andcentral data repository. Laptop information handling systems havetraditionally offered portability by using a clamshell configurationhaving a display and keyboard on opposing portions of arotationally-coupled chassis. The clamshell configuration offersportability with adequate room to hold powerful components havingprocessing capabilities on par with those found in many desktopinformation handling systems. End users who prefer greater portabilitythan that offered by a clamshell configuration tend to select tabletinformation handling systems that typically accept inputs through atouchscreen display integrated in a flat chassis. Tablet informationhandling systems provide convenient information consumption, such as forpresenting entertainment like movies, but tend to have more limitedprocessing capabilities due to the relatively smaller size of thetypical tablet chassis. The smaller chassis size also tends to limit thesize of the display and, thus, the end user's entertainment experience.

Tablet information handling systems have limitations for performing somefunctions expected from desktop and laptop information handling systems.One limitation is the lack of a built in keyboard. Tablets generallyinclude a touchscreen that presents a keyboard and accepts inputs;however, a touchscreen keyboard is typically more difficult for an enduser to use resulting in slower inputs. Further, a touchscreen keyboardconsumes display space and detracts from presentation of otherinformation. Another limitation is the generally small size of thedisplay screen included in a tablet. Although a small display supportsinformation consumption, such as email reading, web browsing and moviewatching, end users often must expand an image presented at the displayto comfortably view information. Even if an end user interfaces aperipheral keyboard and mouse with a tablet, the small screen size tendsto make effective information creation difficult. Further, with a smallchassis and limited room to expel excess thermal energy generated byprocessing components, tablets typically have less powerful processorsthat have difficulty with complex computing tasks. Another limitationwith tablets is that the planar housing can be somewhat awkward for anend user to hold and make inputs. Docking stations are available to holdtablets, however, docking stations are inconvenient for end users tocarry around.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore a need has arisen for a system and method which supports atablet information handling system having an improved displaypresentation.

In accordance with the present invention, a system and method areprovided which substantially reduce the disadvantages and problemsassociated with previous methods and systems for presenting informationat a tablet information handling system. Support members extend outwardat the bottom surface of the tablet information handling system planarhousing to hold the planar housing at plural angles relative to aresting surface, such as a desktop. Changing the orientation of theplanar housing relative to the resting surface arranges the supportmembers to hold the planar housing in different orientations, such asinclined and upright orientations selected with 180 degrees of rotationrelative to the resting surface. Changes in orientation of the planarhousing relative to a likely location of an end user initiate changes inthe direction of cooling airflow through the planar housing so thatexhausted cooling airflow is directed away from the end user.

More specifically, a planar housing has plural processing componentsdisposed in it that cooperate to process information, such as byexecution of stored instructions. A display disposed over an uppersurface of the planar housing interfaces with the processing componentsto present information as visual images. Support members extend outwardfrom support cavities formed in the bottom surface of the planar housingto rest on a resting surface so that one side of the planar housing iselevated relative to an opposing side. In an inclined configuration, thesupport members rest substantially perpendicular to a resting surface toraise one side of the planar housing by a distance of the extension ofthe support members from the bottom surface. To transform from theinclined position to an upright position, the planar housing is rotated180 degrees relative to the resting surface so that the support membersare substantially parallel with the resting surface. Transitioningbetween inclined and upright configurations result in the image at thedisplay being reoriented to maintain the images presented by the displayupright relative to an end user. Cooling airflow through the planarhousing removes excess thermal energy produced by processing componentsso that more powerful processing components may be included in theplanar housing. The direction of cooling airflow exhaust from the planarhousing is adjusted based upon the likely location of an end userrelative to the planar housing. For example, if a docking connector ofthe planar housing couples with a docking station, then cooling airflowis directed upward and away from the docking station. As anotherexample, if a weight switch associated with the support members detectsan inclined or upright configuration, then the cooling airflow isdirected in the same direction as the orientation of images presented atthe display. Cooling airflow through the planar housing is exhausted ina desired direction by selecting a rotation direction for the fan.

The present invention provides a number of important technicaladvantages. One example of an important technical advantage is that aninformation handling system has the touch interaction of a tablet, theportability of a laptop and the productivity of a desktop. For example,a moderate sized Full High Definition (FHD) touchscreen display presentsinformation with sufficient resolution to provide efficient informationcreation, yet fits in a housing thin enough and light enough to allowportability, such as a maximum thickness of about a finger width and arelatively light weight. Processing components are disposed in a housingthat has more room than a typical tablet, which provides more efficienthandling of excess thermal energy associated so that more powerfulprocessing components may be included in the housing. More powerfulprocessing components efficiently run applications that createinformation, such as word processing, spreadsheet and multimedia editingapplications. In order to dissipate excess thermal energy, one or morecooling fans provide a cooling airflow with the direction of the airflowdetermined by the orientation of the information handling system.Orientation-based cooling airflow ensures end user comfort duringoperations that generate greater levels of thermal energy. Retractablesupport members extend from the housing to provide multiple orientationsadaptable to multiple end user functional uses, such as upright, flatand inclined orientations provided by a set of retractable support legs.The tablet information handling system also docks to a docking stationfor use with peripherals in an all-in-one configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood, and its numerousobjects, features and advantages made apparent to those skilled in theart by referencing the accompanying drawings. The use of the samereference number throughout the several figures designates a like orsimilar element.

FIG. 1 depicts an information handling system having a planar housing tocontain processing components that cooperate to process information;

FIG. 2 depicts the information handling system planar housing havingselectively extended support members that provide flat, inclined andupright configurations;

FIG. 3 depicts a rear perspective view of the information handlingsystem planar housing raised with the support members over a supportsurface in the inclined and upright configurations;

FIG. 4 depicts a blow-up view of a support member and a support cavityformed in the planar housing bottom surface;

FIG. 5 depicts the information handling system planar housing aligned tocouple with a docking station having performance boost subsystem;

FIG. 6 depicts the information handling system planar housing havingcooling airflow direction reversible by reversing the rotation of one ormore cooling fans;

FIG. 7 depicts a damper that slides within the information handlingsystem planar housing to selectively set the direction of coolingairflow exhaust; and

FIG. 8 depicts selective changes to a camera field of view based uponthe configuration in which the information handling system planarhousing is held.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An information handling system in a planar housing offers the touchinteraction of a tablet, the portability of a laptop and theproductivity of a desktop having an all-in-one configuration. Forpurposes of this disclosure, an information handling system may includeany instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable tocompute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate,switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, orutilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business,scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an informationhandling system may be a personal computer, a network storage device, orany other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance,functionality, and price. The information handling system may includerandom access memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as acentral processing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic,ROM, and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components ofthe information handling system may include one or more disk drives, oneor more network ports for communicating with external devices as well asvarious input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, anda video display. The information handling system may also include one ormore buses operable to transmit communications between the varioushardware components.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a cutaway view depicts an information handlingsystem 10 having a tablet configuration in a planar housing 12. Theupper surface of planar housing 12 integrates with a touchscreen display14 that presents information as visual images and accepts end userinputs as touches. In order to support multiple functions provided byboth portable tablet and non-portable information handling systems,planar housing 12 is sized to support a display 14 that is larger thantypical tablet displays. In one example embodiment, display 14 is anmoderate sized FHD display supported by a planar housing 14 having athickness of about a pencil at top portion 16 that tapers to a fingerwidth thickness at bottom portion 18. The tapered thickness provides anangled surface on the bottom side of the housing opposite display 14that aids movement of air from bottom portion 18 out top portion 16 withnatural convection for enhanced cooling of processing componentsdisposed in the thicker bottom portion 18. The processing componentsinclude a processor 20 that executes instructions to processinformation, a memory 22 interfaced with processor 20 to storeinstructions in support of processor 20, a solid state drive (SSD) 24that stores information in non-volatile memory and a wireless card 26that provides wireless networking interfaces, such as WLAN, WWAN andWPAN interfaces. Processor 20 executes instructions, such asapplications, that generate visual information for presentation ondisplay 14 and audio information for presentation by speakers 28. Anorientation sensor 30, such as a gyroscope or an accelerometer,determines the orientation of planar housing 12 relative to gravity sothat an orientation sensing logic 32 stored in memory 22 to execute onprocessor 20 can orient images presented by display 14 relative togravity. A camera 34 captures images and provides captured imageinformation to processor 20 for use, such as for videoconferencing. Abattery 36 powers the processing components when external power is notavailable.

Referring now to FIG. 2, three example configurations are depicted foruse of information handling system 10 that correspond to tablet andlaptop usage models. In a flat configuration 38, planar housing 12'sbottom surface rests on a resting surface, such as a table top, toprovide an end user with a flat touchscreen display 14 with which tointeract. In an inclined configuration 40, two opposing support members44 extend out of the bottom surface of planar housing 12 to hold thebottom portion 18 of planar housing 12 at a higher elevation above theresting surface than the top portion 16 of planar housing 12. Inclinedconfiguration 40 raises one side of planar housing 12 relative to aresting surface and to an opposing side of planar housing 12 so that anend user sitting above but to the side of planar housing 12 will havedisplay 14 supported in a generally perpendicular position to the enduser. Upright configuration 42 has the bottom portion 18 of informationhandling system 10 on the resting surface so that surface members 44hold planar housing 12 generally perpendicular to the resting surface,such as in the position of an open laptop display. An end user convertsinformation handling system 10 from the inclined position to the uprightposition by rotating planar housing 12 to place the portion raised inthe inclined position downward and against the resting surface in theupright position.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a rear perspective view depicts informationhandling system 10 in the inclined and upright positions. Supportmembers 44 extend outward from a retracted position within the bottomsurface of planar housing 12 to the extended position, as depicted, thatholds one side of planar housing 12 elevated above the resting surface.Support members 44 have an angled bottom to firmly rest against theresting surface. Support members 44 are substantially perpendicular tothe resting surface and to planar housing 12 with some angle offset toestablish the desired incline. In the inclined configuration, supportmembers 44 raise planar housing above the resting surface by thedistance that support members 44 extend outward from planar housing 12.Transition between the inclined and upright configurations with supportmembers 44 extended is performed by raising planar housing 12 so thatthe side closest to support members 44 rests on the resting surface. Inthe upright configuration, planar housing 12 rests on support members 44with support members 44 substantially parallel to the resting surface.

A transition between inclined and upright configurations results in aninversion of display 14 relative to the end user. In one embodiment, aweight sensor 46 disposed at the interface of one or more supportmembers 44 and planar housing 12 detects a resting force placed uponsupport members 44 when support members 44 support planar housing 12 inthe inclined or upright configurations. Weight sensors 46 determinewhether the vector of the force results from an inclined or uprightconfiguration and provides a determination of the inclined or uprightconfiguration to orientation sensing logic 32 to align the presentationof images at display 14 with the determined configuration. As analternative, orientation sensor 30 may be used to align images presentedby display 14 while weight sensors 46 provide confirmation of theappropriate display image alignment. Although the example embodimentdepicts two support members that rotate outward to an extended position,in alternative embodiments, the rotation may be inward withcentrally-located pivot points. Other alternative embodiments may use asingle support member or more that two support members to provide theinclined and upright configurations based upon a single common extendedposition of the support members.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a side view depicts a support member 44separate from a support cavity 48 formed in planar housing 12 to storesupport member 44 when retracted. A pivot point 50 of support member 44couples at support cavity 48 with a breakaway device 52 to allow supportmember 44 to rotate about pivot point 50. Breakaway device 52 appliespressure at pivot point 50 to hold support member 44 in place butreleases support member 44 if an excessive force is applied to supportmember 44. A biasing device 54, such as a coil spring, provides abiasing force on support member 44 to retract into support cavity 48. Adampener 56 dampens the biasing force as a support member 44 enters intosupport cavity 48 to provide a smooth retraction of support member 44into support cavity 48. A standoff 58 formed along the exposed surfaceof support member 44 engages with a resting surface when planar housing12 is in the flat configuration. Standoff 58 provides a slight air gapacross the bottom surface of planar housing 12 to aid in cooling byallowing air to flow across the bottom surface.

Referring now to FIG. 5 a side view depicts information handling system10 having a docking station connector 60 aligned to couple with adocking station 62. When docked, information handling system 10 providesfunctions similar to an all-in-one desktop information handling system,such as by interfacing peripherals with docking station 62 for use witha docked information handling system 10. In one embodiment, informationhandling system 10 obtains a boost in its performance with a performanceboost subsystem 64 that includes storage, processing and coolingresources to supplement those within information handling system 10. Forexample, a cooling system 66 provides cooling for components withinperformance boost subsystem 64 and supplements cooling to informationhandling system 10, such as by providing cooling airflow through a ductformed proximate docking station connector 60. Performance boost modules68 provide selectable processing enhancements that an end user canchoose to include in docking station 62, such as additional non-volatilestorage deployed as a RAID, graphics processing, networkingcapabilities, etc. Performance boost modules 68 enhance multi-functioncapabilities and provide information security for end users who desireto maintain desktop-type capabilities with a portable informationhandling system.

One difficulty with a multi-function information handling system 10 isthat the more powerful components associated with performing complextasks, such as more powerful processors, tend to have increased heatgeneration as a byproduct of information processing. In order tomaintain information handling system 10 within a thermal rangeacceptable for portable use, one or more cooling fans 70 generate acooling airflow within planar housing 12 under the management of one ormore cooling fan controllers 72, as depicted by FIG. 1. To preventdiscomfort to an end user caused by heated air exhausted from planarhousing 12, cooling fan controllers 72 adjust the direction of thecooling airflow through planar housing 12 so that heated air isexhausted in a direction away from the expected location of an end user.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an example embodiment is depicted in whichcooling airflow direction through planar housing 12 is reversed byreversing the direction in which cooling fans 70 rotate. If, forinstance, the expected location of an end user is proximate the side ofinformation handling system 10 having cooling fans 70, then cooling fans70 rotate to draw air through inlets 74, past the processing componentsneeding cooling, and out exhausts 76. If the expected location of an enduser changes, then cooling fans 70 reverse the direction of theirrotation to draw air into exhausts 76 and to push heated air out inlets74. Cooling fan controller 72 selects a direction for cooling airflowbased upon sensed operating conditions at information handling system10. For example, cooling fan controller obtains orientationdeterminations from orientation sensing logic 32 and applies theorientation determinations to set the direction of rotation of coolingfans 70. In one embodiment, coupling of docking connector 60 to dockingstation 62 results in a command to have cooling airflow pass intoinformation handling system 10 at inlets 74 near docking connector 60and out exhausts 76 at the top of planar housing 12. In the dockedconfiguration, exhausting cooling airflow out the top of informationhandling system 10 prevents heated air from exhausting in the positionlocated in front of docking station 62 where an end user is likely tosit.

When information handling system 10 is not docked, then the direction ofcooling airflow exhaust that is least likely to pass by an end user istypically a direction that corresponds with the orientation of imagespresented at display 14. Thus, in one example embodiment, whenorientation sensor 30 detects an up orientation for display 14 topresent images, the same orientation is used to send cooling airflowexhaust from planar housing 12. In one embodiment, when informationhandling system 10 is not docked, a more restrictive thermal profile isapplied so that cooling airflow exhaust reaches lower maximumtemperatures to reduce the risk of discomfort to an end user in theevent than an inappropriate exhaust direction is selected. For example,higher fan speeds and lower processor clock speeds may be used to keepexhaust temperatures at lower maximum levels. In another embodiment,weight detected by weight sensors 46 that indicates an inclined orupright configuration with support members 44 may be used to determinecooling fan exhaust direction. Generally, both the image orientation andthe cooling fan exhaust direction will reverse when information handlingsystem 10 is rotated between the inclined and upright configurations.Since the detection of weight by weight sensors 46 provides a higherdegree of certainty of the location of an end user relative to planarhousing 12, a less restrictive thermal profile may be used in theupright and inclined configurations with a greater maximum exhausttemperature. In another example embodiment, camera 34 captures an imageof an end user that is analyzed by orientation sensing logic 32 todetermine the location of the end user for setting cooling fan exhaustdirection away from the end user. Since the camera provides a definitivelocation of the end user relative to planar housing 12, less restrictivethermal constraints may be used that provide a greater maximum exhausttemperature.

Although reversing fan rotation direction provides control of coolingairflow direction, other embodiments may redirect cooling airflowthrough planar housing 12 in alternative ways. For example, if twocooling fans 70 are available, one cooling fan 70 is powered to providecooling airflow in a first direction and the other cooling fan 70 ispowered to provide cooling airflow in a second direction. FIG. 7 depictsanother alternative embodiment in which a damper 78 slides between afirst location to direct cooling airflow exhaust in a first directionand a second location to direct cooling airflow exhaust in a seconddirection. In one alternative embodiment, damper 78 is used incombination with cooling fan rotation direction reversal to directheated exhaust in plural selectable directions. For example, damper 78may engage to re-direct heated exhaust out a separate side opening basedupon analysis of a camera image showing an end user at each of thenormally-used cooling airflow inlets and exhausts.

Referring now to FIG. 8, adjustable camera orientation is depicted foruse when information handling system 10 adjusts between flat, inclinedand upright orientations. Camera 34 has a field of view 80 thatgenerally centers on the area in front of display 14. For example, anend user sitting in front of a docked information handling system 10will typically fall within the field of view around the area in front ofdisplay 14. In some instances, an end user may view display 14 fromoutside the field of view of camera 34, such as when informationhandling system is in a flat configuration and the end user is sittingto one side of the information handling system. To adjust to varying enduser locations, camera 34 includes a solenoid that changes the field ofview of the camera by moving the camera lens relative to planar housing12. In one embodiment, camera 34 automatically adjusts the center of thefield of view based up a determination that information handling system10 is in a flat, inclined or upright configuration. After an initialadjustment based upon a detected configuration or an orientation sensorinput, camera 34 searches for a facial image to further train the fieldof view at an end user.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, it shouldbe understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can bemade hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for presenting information at a tabletinformation handling system, the method comprising: extending first andsecond members outward from a housing of the tablet information handlingsystem, the first and second members integrated with the housing, thehousing having a planar form, having integrated processing componentsand having a display, the processing components processing informationand presenting the information as visual images; resting one side of thehousing on a resting surface and resting the first and second members onthe resting surface, the housing in an inclined configuration; rotatingthe housing to rest an opposing side of the housing on the restingsurface and to rest the first and second members on the resting surface,the housing in an upright configuration; retracting the first and secondmembers into the housing; and resting the housing on the resting surfacein a flat configuration; wherein the resting the housing on the restingsurface in the flat configuration further comprises resting the housingat least in part on a standoff extending outward from each of the firstand second members after the retracting, the standoff raising a bottomsurface of the housing off of the resting surface.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the first and second members have a substantiallyperpendicular orientation to the resting surface in the inclinedconfiguration and a substantially parallel orientation to the restingsurface in the upright configuration.
 3. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: determining if the housing is in the inclined, upright orflat configuration; and in response to determining, performing afunction based upon the determined configuration.
 4. The method of claim3 wherein the determining if the housing is in the inclined, upright orflat configuration further comprises: sensing a force applied throughthe first or second member to a sensor disposed in the housing; andanalyzing the force to determine the inclined, upright or flatconfiguration.
 5. The method of claim 3 wherein the performing afunction further comprises adjusting an orientation of the visual imagespresented at the display to align with the determined orientation. 6.The method of claim 3 wherein the performing a function furthercomprises adjusting a direction of a cooling airflow through the housingbased upon the determined configuration.